Ricky Stuart, the coach of New South Wales, has ignited the rivalry with Queensland’s Mal Meninga by expressing his “surprise” at his former teammate’s choice to place his Maroons players on alert.
Stuart’s remarks followed Meninga’s recent ultimatum to his Maroons team, emphasizing a perform-or-perish mindset as they approach tonight’s State of Origin series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
“I can’t say if there are cracks, but I am quite taken aback that they have deviated from the so-called Origin culture of supporting their own,” stated Stuart.
“That caught me off guard a little.”
“Nonetheless, I acknowledge he’s a savvy coach; he understands his strategy.”
Steve Mortimer, a New South Wales legend, has proposed that Meninga may be stepping out of his comfort zone as the Maroons coach aims for a sixth consecutive series victory.
“Perhaps Mal feels uncomfortable coaching against the halfback who provided him with so much good ball for years,” he remarked.
While Stuart refrained from guaranteeing that his current lineup would be a long-term solution, he insisted that the bond among his Blues was the quickest he had experienced under his guidance.
“This is my chosen team, and there’s genuine belief stemming from our actions and preparation in camp,” he asserted.
“They understand that my faith in them goes beyond public declarations.”
“In all of the representative teams I’ve coached, I’ve never witnessed a group come together as swiftly.”
Though Stuart expressed confidence, he also downplayed the Blues’ ambitions for game one, stating that the outcome on the scoreboard would not dictate how he evaluated his team’s performance.
“I’m not focused on the score,” he explained.
“I’m concentrating on what we can actually execute on the field and just hope that we can hold our own against this exceptional team.”
“I’m uncertain about where we’ll succeed.”
“If we can achieve a robust team performance, then I will evaluate where NSW stands.”
by Buford Balony
